해상테러행위의 법적 대응방안에 관한 연구

Abstract

Today, maritime traffic plays a role as the important transportation of international trade. Ships as an old seaborne transportation have become a main transport to be able to move more freight than land transportation whose capacity is relatively limited.

As science and technologies develop, the advancement of maritime traffic has become slower than that of land transportation such as the advent of cars, trains and planes in terms of convenience and mobility. However, the size of ships has become greater thanks to the continuous advancement of ship-building technologies. This has brought about the transportation of goods in large size and in great quantities. Nowadays, seaborne transportation accounts for more than 90% of all international trade.

As seaborne transportation becomes larger, threat to the safety of seaborne transportation increases. However, most of the threat was caused by natural disasters in the past due to lack of ship-building and navigational technologies and piracy as a means of violence.

Since piracy emerged from the beginning of men's seaborne transportation, it has come to threat to the safety of the transportation.

With regard to the control of pirates, under international law, all States can exercise their jurisdiction over pirates in their own waters and the high seas, and arrest and sue them in their own courts.

Along with piracy, maritime terrorism by means of ships for political purposes emerges as a new international problem. Unlike piracy committed for private ends, since maritime terrorism committed by terrorists' groups for political purposes may occur in the course of transportation of important and dangerous cargoes and it may cause danger of killing of a large number of people and enormous pollution of the environment. Thus, the international community and mankind need to pay attention to its seriousness.

In particular, unlike terrorism on land, the effect of maritime terrorism on the international economy may make international trade order fall into confusion. Also the impact of a huge maritime disaster on the coastal State and the international community may go beyond imagination. Also, most of the international trade is done through shipping and if terrorists close vital traffic hubs such as the Malacca Strait, Suez Canal, and Panama Canal by hijacking gas or crude oil carriers, the international economy may fall into serious chaos. Ultimately, maritime terrorism towards these vessels lead to the same effect as that of terrorism towards the world as a whole.

As maritime terrorism threatening the safety of shipping seldom exposes and is proved to be the case through the advanced technological verification of its cause, there exists a little research of this kind. However, the hijacking of the Achille Lauro in 1985 has come to draw the attention of the international community. With the beginning of the incident, the Rome Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts threatening Maritime Safety has been adopted through the discussion of maritime terrorism internationally under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization(IMO).

While not only maritime terrorism as a threat to maritime safety but piracy has rapidly decreased in particular areas through the condensed regulation and control of the international community, the frequency of happening of piracy tends to increase rapidly in other areas. Particularly, conventions and regulations on acts threatening the safety of maritime traffic draws less attention than various international conventions on terrorism occurring on land. As conventions on regulations for unlawful acts threatening the safety of maritime traffic do not establish adequate countermeasures for the new maritime terrorism and piracy by maritime terrorists' groups, it is viewed as a stopgap measure not effective, relying only on the UN resolutions.

Although with regard to piracy a lot of international research and measures under international law are established, with respect to maritime terrorism as a new factor damaging maritime safety, its conception, definition and the extent of punishment remain unsettled in its international agreement.

Thus, the most important point dealing with maritime terrorism in this research is to prevent it from occurring beforehand, but once maritime terrorism occurs, matters relating to legal liability for the unlawful acts are also vital tasks as measures after the incident. In advance, this study discusses the basic notions of maritime terrorism, followed by international conventions with regard to maritime terrorism. Also, it draws problems and implications through the examination of maritime terrorism under maritime law and attempts to establish practical countermeasures.